Mandeville Mayor Donald Villere said he is adamantly against a local company's plan to drill for oil near the city and may ask the City Council to pass a resolution against the proposal. Villere is the second western St. Tammany mayor this week to come out against the New Orleans company's effort to drill the well just north of Interstate 12 and about a mile east of Louisiana 1088 and use the hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," method to extract oil and gas.

Villere said people are drawn to western St. Tammany in part because of its respect for the environment.

"That's a big reason people come here," he said. "It's unacceptable to have fracking in St. Tammany Parish."

Donald Villere

Mandeville was the site of a public hearing on April 16 during which a large group of opponents expressed concerns that the fracking operation could pollute the environment and drop property values. Similar issues were raised at a jam-packed informational meeting last week in Abita Springs.

Helis Oil & Gas LLC proposes to drill a well 13,400 feet deep and then drill laterally into an ancient sedimentary rock formation known as the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale.

Helis has released a statement saying it has an "outstanding reputation for safe and environmentally friendly operating standards.''

"First
and foremost, we understand we have a special obligation to conduct our
operations and our business in a manner that is respectful and
disciplined,'' the company said. "A number of our employees reside in
St. Tammany and we are all committed to fulfilling that obllgation.''

Once the well is drilled, a solution of water, chemicals and sand would be pumped into it, and the tremendous pressure would form cracks, or fractures, in the shale. When the solution is pulled out of the well, the sand would remain in the cracks and keep them open, allowing oil and gas to flow into the well for extraction.

So that it would remain sealed, the well would be encased in concrete and several layers of hardened steel pipe.

The Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Environmental Quality have extended until May 15 the public comment period on Helis' wetlands permit and water quality certification for the project.

Supporters of the fracking operation say the extraction method is very common and has been used safely throughout the state and elsewhere. They said Helis has an excellent track record with fracking, having drilled and hydraulically fractured about 60 wells similar to the proposed well near Mandeville without any significant environmental issues.

In response to the proponents' argument that fracking is not a high-risk venture, Villere said he's not inclined to play the percentages.

"There's an outside chance that something could go wrong, but I'd rather not deal with an outside chance," he said.